Diagnosis and treatment of tooth misalignment is either unavailable, or if available is too costly for inhabitants in many parts of the world. In some regions, there are a limited number of medical facilities and an even fewer number of dental facilities and practitioners available for treating orthodontic conditions. Because of this deficiency there are innumerable cases of misaligned teeth which but for this fact would be easily treatable.
Prefabricated tooth positioning retainers invented by the inventor of the instant application are available in various standard sizes and are utilized to properly position and straighten teeth if properly worn. These devices have been proved effective in correcting many types of tooth misalignment conditions especially in children and adults. These devices have also significantly reduced the cost of providing orthodontic care which traditionally requires many visits to an orthodontist and complicated hardware installed in the mouth of a patient.
One problem is that though these appliances are available and effective they require a thorough diagnosis for selecting the proper sized appliance for a particular patient. There are a limited number of medical facilities, dental facilities and especially individuals trained in orthodontic care in many parts of the world, therefore no such diagnosis may be readily available or even possible for the patient. What is desirable is to provide a method and apparatus for individuals in need of orthodontic care to obtain the proper diagnosis and treatment while requiring either no or only minimal visits to an orthodontic specialist. Another problem is that in remote parts of the world, billing procedures and obtaining payment for diagnosis and treatment may be difficult at best. What is also desirable is to provide a method and an apparatus for providing such proper diagnosis and treatment which further provides a simple and efficient way for a patient to pay for the services and for the provider of the service to be compensated.